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Saturday, November 14, 2015

Re: Tribute to Haliru Dantoro, Emir of Borgu

Readers shared many thoughtful comments on
last week’s tribute to the late Haliru Dantoro. I share a few of them below:

Thanks
for the eulogy to this visionary leader. I am aware he was trying to put up a
community university for his and other peoples. I had the opportunity of being
given the privilege by a professor based in East Africa who is one of the
arrowheads of that university to draft one of the several legal documents for
the proposed university, which I readily did as a community service. I was
impressed by the move by a traditional institution in Nigeria building a
university. I have always wished that our traditional institutions engage in
more community services like establishing schools and hospitals, something I
have witnessed in parts of Africa I have visited. Royal institutions should not
just sit idly collecting royalties from their poor and rich subjects; they
should be development-oriented. That is one lesson we can learn from the late
Emir of Borgu. In respect to his memory, his successor will do well to bring
this university to fruition, and even name it after him. May Allah forgive his
shortcomings and admit him to jannatul fridaus –aamin.

Tajudeen Sanni

You
wrote a great, touching tribute to the late Alhaji Haliru Dantoro. It reminded
me of a similar one you wrote for the late Dr. Olusola Saraki. There is no
doubt that Dantoro was a great man who soared very high when he lived. More
than anyone, he helped to popularize Borgu in Nigeria, especially after giving
the “Jagaban Borgu” title to Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

But
while I agree with everything you wrote about the late Dantoro, I disagree that
he—or anybody for that matter—deserved or deserves to be called “Emir of
Borgu.” As you rightly pointed out, there can be no “Emir of Borgu” because
Borgu is a complex society with multiple centres of political power. The Emir
of Bussa (as you rightly called him) has influence only in Borgu and Agwara
local governments in Niger State. His influence doesn’t even extend to Kaiama
in Kwara State, which is just a 45-minute drive from New Bussa. To call anyone
the King of Borgu” is arrogant. Not even the Sina Boko (supreme king) of Nikki,
Benin Republic, calls himself king of all of Borgu.

I
think you owe it to your non-Borgu readers to do another write-up on the
political and ethnic complexities of Borgu and how the notion of an “emir of
Borgu” is just plain ridiculous. Please understand that I am in no way trying
to make light of the contributions Dantoro made to Borgu. This observation
isn’t directed at him as a person. After all, his predecessors from the 1950s on
also styled themselves as “emir of Borgu.” People from other parts of Borgu are
offended by the arrogance of this title and have made this known to them. I
hope the next emir is modest enough to simply call himself the “emir of (New)
Bussa.”

Anyway,
may his soul rest in peace, and may Allah forgive him his shortcoming, just
like he too unconditionally forgave people who wronged and disagreed with him.
Amin.

Muhammad Woru Aminu

The
death of the Emir in a German hospital is another bitter reminder of our
backwardness after 55yrs of independence. Even our leaders admitted that they
have not done anything tangible in the provision of health care as you hear
them running outside for same always. Do they not claim they have given us good
hospitals? I will not list the number of past leaders or their relations who
have died or are treated overseas, for this is known to everyone. So what
happens to the rest of us? It’s like our leaders are saying we are on our own.﻿

Usman Raji

In
reading your tribute today, I learned one thing: that I don’t know Nigeria
enough. I didn’t realize Kwara and Niger states share boundary with Benin
Republic. I also didn’t know about Borgu and where it is located. Lastly, I had
thought that you were Nupe because of the sound of your last name. Because of
you, I now know of a proud, illustrious people called the Baatonu who not only
live in northern Kwara State but are the second or third largest ethnic group
in Benin Republic. Wow! Thanks for not just a beautiful tribute but for
broadening my narrow knowledge of Nigeria and Africa.

Kevin Kerume

I
passionately read your tribute on my beloved friend, grandfather, model and
mentor in my political struggle all in the course of emancipation of our dear
land Borgu kingdom. As I read through the lines, I wept inward for just the
little knowledge I gained from my little stay with him. I wondered when the
vacuum left by him shall be regained. I then quickly flashed back and
remembered what he used to tell me any time I was with him. He used to say,
"I am sitting with you to let you have an idea of my dream for Borgu, so
that after me you people will have the knowledge to actualise the Borgu of our
dream." I am quite sure he must have told this to so many of my kind and
your humble self. Hope is not lost. All we own him in absentia is organising
ourselves as a people to actualise the Borgu of our dream. How do we organise
ourselves? I suggest through conferences and seminars to remind ourselves of
the desired dream of Borgu. May the soul of Kitoro III rest in perfect peace.
Amin.

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About Me

Dr. Farooq Kperogi is a professor, journalist, newspaper columnist, author, and blogger based in Greater Atlanta, USA. He received his Ph.D. in communication from Georgia State University's Department of Communication where he taught journalism for 5 years and won the top Ph.D. student prize called the "Outstanding Academic Achievement in Graduate Studies Award." He earned his Master of Science degree in communication (with a minor in English) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and won the Outstanding Master's Student in Communication Award.

He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication (with minors in English and Political Science) from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, where he won the Nigerian Television Authority Prize for the Best Graduating Student.

Dr. Kperogi worked as a reporter and news editor, as a researcher/speech writer at the (Nigerian) President's office, and as a journalism lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic and Ahmadu Bello University before relocating to the United States.

He was the Managing Editor of the Atlanta Review of Journalism History, a refereed academic journal. He was also Associate Director of Research at Georgia State University's Center for International Media Education (CIME).

He is currently an Associate Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at the School of Communication and Media, Kennesaw State University, Georgia's fastest-growing and third largest university. (Kennesaw is a suburb of Atlanta). He also writes two weekly newspaper columns: "Notes From Atlanta" in the Abuja-based DailyTrust on Saturday (formerly Weekly Trust) and "Politics of Grammar" in the DailyTrust on Sunday (formerly Sunday Trust).

In April 2014 Dr. Kperogi was honored as the Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Louisiana's Department of Communication. His research has also won international awards, such as the 2016 Top-Rated Research Paper Award at the 17th Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin, USA.